All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Erich Maria Remarque (novel)
Maxwell Anderson (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

24 August 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

At last....the motion picture!

Plot:

A young soldier faces profound disillusionment in the soul-destroying horror of World War I.

Plot Keywords:

German | Soldier | Wound | Eyes | Heroism

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Louis Wolheim	...	Kat Katczinsky
Lew Ayres	...	Paul Bäumer (as Lewis Ayres)
John Wray	...	Himmelstoss
Arnold Lucy	...	Professor Kantorek
Ben Alexander	...	Franz Kemmerich
Scott Kolk	...	Leer
Owen Davis Jr.	...	Peter
Walter Rogers	...	Behn (as Walter Browne Rogers)
William Bakewell	...	Albert Kropp
Russell Gleason	...	Mueller
Richard Alexander	...	Westhus
Harold Goodwin	...	Detering
Slim Summerville	...	Tjaden (as 'Slim' Summerville)
G. Pat Collins	...	Lieutenant Bertinck (as Pat Collins)
Beryl Mercer	...	Mrs. Bäumer - Paul's Mother
Edmund Breese	...	Herr Meyer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marion Clayton Anderson	...	Miss Anna Bäumer (uncredited)
Poupée Andriot	...	French Girl (uncredited)
Vince Barnett	...	Assistant Cook (uncredited)
Daisy Belmore	...	Mrs. Kemmerick (uncredited)
Glen Boles	...	Young Soldier (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin	...	Joseph Hammacher (uncredited)
Renée Damonde	...	French Girl (uncredited)
Yola d'Avril	...	Suzanne (uncredited)
Arthur Gardner	...	Student (uncredited)
Raymond Griffith	...	Gérard Duval (uncredited)
Ellen Hall	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
William Irving	...	Ginger - the Cook (uncredited)
Frederick Kohner	...	(uncredited)
Tom London	...	Medic Orderly (uncredited)
Bertha Mann	...	Sister Libertine (uncredited)
Joan Marsh	...	Poster Girl (uncredited)
Edwin Maxwell	...	Mr. Bäumer (uncredited)
Maurice Murphy	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Robert Parrish	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Zasu Pitts	...	Mrs. Baumer - Silent Version Trailer only (uncredited)
Bodil Rosing	...	Mother of Hospital Patient (uncredited)
Wolfgang Staudte	...	(uncredited)
Jack Sutherland	...	(uncredited)
David Tyrell	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Fred Zinnemann	...	Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Lewis Milestone

Writing credits
Erich Maria Remarque		(novel "Im Westen nichts Neues")
Maxwell Anderson		(adaptation & dialogue)
George Abbott		(screenplay)
Del Andrews		(adaptation)
C. Gardner Sullivan		(supervising story chief)
Walter Anthony		(titles) uncredited
Lewis Milestone		uncredited

Produced by
Carl Laemmle Jr.	....	producer

Original Music by
Sam Perry		(silent version) (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld		(silent version) (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Arthur Edeson
Karl Freund		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Edgar Adams
Edward L. Cahn		(uncredited)
Milton Carruth		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Charles D. Hall
William R. Schmidt		(as W.R. Schmitt)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nate Watt	....	assistant director

Sound Department
C. Roy Hunter	....	recording supervisor
William Hedgcock	....	sound technician (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Frank H. Booth	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)
Harry Lonsdale	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Tony Gaudio	....	camera operator: second camera (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Editorial Department
David Broekman	....	synchronization
Maurice Pivar	....	supervising editor

Music Department
David Broekman	....	musical director (uncredited)
Adolph Fink	....	orchestrator (non-dialogue version) (uncredited)
Andor Pinter	....	orchestrator (non-dialogue version) (uncredited)
William Schiller	....	orchestrator (non-dialogue version) (uncredited)

Other crew
Carl Laemmle	....	presenter
George Cukor	....	dialogue director (uncredited)
Lewis Milestone	....	hand double: Lew Ayres (uncredited)
Hans von Morhart	....	advisor: military history (uncredited)
Nate Watt	....	associate director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1930) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1930) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1934) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Pictures (1939) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Pictures (1950) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Pictures (1952) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• BFI (Access) (2003) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Belle & Blade Studios (video)
• ITV DVD (2009) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Runtime:

UK:145 min (cut) | UK:147 min (BBFC submission before censorship) | Germany:136 min | USA:133 min (restored version: Library of Congress) | 138 min (copyright length) | Spain:128 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German | Latin

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | West Germany:12 (re-rating) | Austria:(Banned) (1931-1945) | Germany:(Banned) (1931-1945) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2003) (uncut) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) | USA:Unrated | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Made for the then considerable sum of $1.25 million, the production utilized over 2,000 extras. The knowledge that production began only a few months after the 1929 stock market crash puts into perspective the enormous gamble taken by Universal Pictures in making this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the film, when Bäumer is reaching for the fatal butterfly, he is reaching with his left hand. When he is shot an instant later, it is on a close-up of his outstretched right hand.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Man cleaning doorknob: Thirty thousand.
Maid: From the Russians?
Man cleaning doorknob: No, from the French. From the Russians we capture more than that every day.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hogan's Heroes: Guess Who Came to Dinner? (#4.9)" (1968)

Soundtrack:

All Quiet on the Western Front

The Ultimate War movie

In 1981, we had a screening at the L.A. County Museum of Art of the newly discovered restored version. I took my girlfriend, who was not as savvy on film history as I was, and warned her not to expect much: that the movie was dated, the acting often awkward and broad, and some of the sound effects just plain weird, and so on. When the screening finished, she leaned over to me and said, "This movie hasn't dated at all." I could only agree, because the effect on both of us--and everyone in that theatre--was overpowering.

It's curious to compare it with the very fine tv version with Richard Thomas. The latter version has more scenes from the book and better acting, yet it's still inferior. It suffers from the lack of detail that so many tv productions had then along with comparatively flat lighting. The first version, on the other hand, has a look that resembles a documentary on World War I. They filmed it only eleven years after the war ended, and it contains a power only possible by those who've lived through an era being dramatized. Also, like CITIZEN KANE and DODSWORTH, it baffles one as to how Hollywood of this time produced such a non-escapist piece of entertainment.